Friday, January 2, 2009

Step Ins

My Mom and Dad gave of each us money for Christmas. It was a very simple solution for them. My Mom has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t do very well shopping or buying things for others at this point. She was so funny asking us several times Christmas Eve if we got our cards with the money from her and Dad. (She had just handed us the cards 20 minutes before she asked the first time.) She told us that they put their money together this year since they didn’t know what to get any us for Christmas. She stated this as if they each had two separate incomes, extra jobs on the side, and took up a collection between the two of them! My parents have been retired for many years now and have had the same bank account for a long time. When Mom asked several times if we got our cards with money, one of us would say we did and how much we really appreciated it. Somebody even said it was their favorite shade of green! After she had asked a few more times, I finally spoke up and said that I was going to buy some new underwear with my money.

My grandmothers always got me new underwear for Christmas when I was little. Nanny, my grandmother on my mother’s side of the family, always gave me cotton “panties”. They were so soft and comfy. Sometimes they would be in soft pastel colors. I loved wearing pink panties! Granny, my grandmother on my father’s side of the family, was a whole different story in the pantie department. She always got me the silky feeling, itchy kind. She called them “step-ins”. I remember her telling me that nice little girls only wore white step-ins. Not pink or lavender – just white. Apparently I had a problem with showing my panties when ever I wore dresses. Granny gave me step-ins with lace on the rear end in case my dress came up. I guess it was OK to show your step-ins if they were silky and had ruffles on them.

I had this discussion with Mom on Christmas Eve after I mentioned buying new underwear with my money. My mother actually remembered Granny putting the itchy things on me every time I went to visit. She said that I would start scratching as soon as they touched my behind. Maybe that’s why Granny put the ruffled ones on me. In case I started scratching with a dress on.

I’m sure if Granny was still living she would also tell me that nice girls don’t discuss their step-ins in public.

8 comments:

Oh, I know. Don't you always wonder about some of the things that older people said when you were young? I know that sometimes I don't remember them exactly right, and then they REALLY don't make sense. :)

Now Granny was right. Nice girls don't talk about their undies in public. Now also I have a picture of a certain young lady standing in front of a mirror in my bedroom with her little dress pulled up and showing her little bottom. She learned to do this at the tender age of 3. Merry Merry

My granny also called them "step-ins." although she never bought me any. My mother always bought my panties. She bought me cotton Spanky Pants with the cuff legs in white and pastel shades, or in a flowered print, or Lollipops. Sometimes, I begged her to buy the kind with the ruffles on the legs. Once I reached sixteen, she allowed me to choose the silky kind, with lace or other fancy touches. My favorite pairs were Henson Kickernick or Vanity Fair with the full lace overlay. They made me feel so feminine. Mom insisted that I always buy briefs, not bikinis or hiphuggers. She thought I was too young for those. It was only when hiphugger pants became the rage that she relented because, otherwise, my brief panties would show above my pants, and that wouldn't be very ladylike. Then, fancy briefs were only for wearing under dresses.

Mom called them either panties or step-ins. I grew up wearing cotton Lollipop panties, mostly pink, blue and white. I see that the Vermont Country Store carries them today, although they now also have them in flowered prints or stripes. When I was about fourteen, she took me downtown and bought me some white silky Lollipops with the cuff legs. I tried to talk her into some lace trimmed nylon briefs, like she wore, but she said that was for after I was married. I didn't know at the time what marriage had to do with lacy panties. Boy, was I naive. When I went away to college, I started buying my own lingerie, mostly lace-trimmed briefs and flare leg panties. I also bought Vanity Fair briefs with either lace around the legs or the full lace fronts. It wasn't until the 1980s that there was a revival of the 1930s style step-ins that they started calling tap pants. Victoria's Secret featured them and silky teddies in their earlier catalogs, but now they have dropped them in favor of more utilitarian styles lthat look like athletic wear. It's nice to see a revival of interest those earlier 1930s styles that were the most glamorous of all. I have a nice collection of vintage step-ins and matching bras acquired on EBay. My husband loves them.

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